Latch mechanism



Feb. 8, 1944. 1.. L. ANDERSON ET AL LATCH MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 7, 1942 lmlen'hm's .L. Anderson Feb. 8, 1944. L. L.. ANDERSON ET AL 2,341,416

LATCH MECHANISM Z SheetS-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 7, 1942 \fiveni'ovs \o d L. Andevso Neii 6. Van Dam .m qj Maui Patented Feb. 8, 1944;

v 2,341,4lt

a UNITED STATES OFFICE? Rapids; Mich.;, assignors to Winters & Crampton Corporation, Grandvill'e','iMihf., a eorporation' of Michigan Application- September 7, 1942 SerialNo;. 457,546

9 Claims. (01. 292-3350 This invention relates to latches and is more particularly concerned with a latch for refrigerators.

. In the field of refrigerator latches a spring actuated latch bolt mounted on the door to engage with a keeper mounted on the body of the refrigerator has been commonly used, and when the door is opened by a manual operation of the latchbolt it has been desirable to have the bolt held in retracted position and be released to engage with the keeper when the door was closed by the striking of the bolt against a projection either on the keeper or adjacent the keeper releasing it to move under the influence of its spring into engagement with the keeper. Other latches did not have retention of the latch bolt in retracted position but were free to occupy their original positions when the door was opened. so that in closing a latch bolt had to ride against a cam portion of the keeper for automatic retrac. tion against its spring until the bolt receiving recess of the keeper was reached, whereupon the bolt under the influence of its spring entered the recess and held the door in closed position.

The first type of latch has been known as a trigger latch. The desirability. of holding the latch bolt in retracted position when the door was opened has long been recognized. However, the positioning of the latch keeper with respect to the latch and the latch bolt has heretofore necessarily been a very accurate one, the tolerance limits of variation in position seldom exceeding ea". When the keeper was improperly positioned with reference to the latch bolt and the means which held it in retracted position, the

door would open upon manually withdrawal of the latch bolt as soon as the bolt disengaged from th keeper but many times without the retaining means for holding the bolt retracted being properly reached and coming into play, whereupon the bolt would return to its normal operative position with the door open and have to be forced back by riding against the keeper when the door was closed. This caused many manufacturers of refrigerators who had adopted a: trigger type of latch to changeto the other type upon change of models, not because the trigger latch was not wanted but because of the many times that it failed to operate as it would with the latch and keeper properly set with relation to each other.

With the trigger type'of latch a stronger and heavier type of spring may be used inasmuch as the compression of the spring on retracting the bolt on opening the door can be readily attained without undue force being. applied to the handle of the latch used toretract the bolt. But in closing the door. if. the retaining of: the' latch bolt in retracted. position should fail .the'kee'per was subjected to excessive pre'ssu'reand shock in slamming'. the doorv to closed position with'th keeper takinglthe' force of impact of the unretractied bolt-.and in compressing the heavier spring.

Thetpresent invention is directed to a latch, the primary purpose of which is a novel latch structure in which a practical insurance. that the latch bolt will beheld in retracted position every time the door is opened is attained providing the keeper is 'set within a substantial range of between its extreme positions that it may beset at whichthe retention of the bolt will be effective, thereby insuring that the keeper will be properly set with ease. withthe workmen given this range. of latitude in which to install said keeper. This makes the latch a'trigger latch which is effective and is not subject to an eX- tremely delicate setting of the keeper with rela- .tion to the latch bolt as heretofore required. V Incidental: to the main and primary-object of thepresent invention many novel constructions in detail of arrangement in the shape and formation of the parts and their assembly have been provided for theefiective carryingout of this main object and purpose of this invention and for providing apractical, easily manufactured andv assembled latch, one which is durable in service and which can be produced economically.

To these ends we have made the present invention,-an understanding of which may befhad from the renewin description taken in connect'i'on with the accompanying drawings, in which, vFig. 1 is a' fragmentary section thr'ougHan edge portion'of' a dOO'r on which the latch is mounted and the cooperating door casing" or bodyof a refrigerator illustratingthe mounting of thel'atch' and keeper-with parts broken away and'in'section for a better disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section in'a plane be tween" the sides ofthe latch showing the latch boltret'racted and in one of the positions which army are and be held retracted in'o'pe'nifigthe door. I

Fig.3 is a'Vi eW similar to Fig. 2 showingthe latch=bolt retracted and in an'otheror its positions'. I I

Fig l is-an eIeV atiGfiOf lEhe laitblrlboklfi'g dt 'i'fi against the side: thereof presented toward' the frOr It of the 106 1 and with one part? thereof in sedtiom Y :1 zFigo 5 is an: end elevation 10f? the latch looking EOWRI'CI the-latchfromtlie rightfin liig. 4} and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the bolt retaining mechanism for holding the bolt retracted upon operating the latch to open the door.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the difierent figures of the drawings.

A part of a refrigerator door is shown at I in association with an adjacent side 2 of the refrigerator at the front where the door engages against the refrigerator to close and seal its interior compartment. The door is shown in its closed position with the usual sealing gasket 3 carried by the door to press against the refrigerator casing.

The latch of our invention as it has been manufactured, is of the concealed type, there showing only at the outside of the door the handle 4 which is pivotally mounted at 5 and'is manually operated for retracting the latch bolt against a spring 6, the outward pull on the handle forcing a plunger pin 1 inwardly when the handle (Fig. -l) is moved in a clockwise direction.

1 The keeper ismounted. on the refrigerator casing and projects from the front edge of the side of the refrigerator casing covered by the free edge of the door when the door is in closed position. Said keeper includes a mounting bracket 8 on which a keeper hook 9 is mounted, usually with adiustments'for the hook though the present invention is not concerned with such adjustments. Said keeper hook 9 is of a conventional structure having an inner side within which the retaining end of the bolt passes when the door is closed and having an inclined cam side for the end of the bolt to ride against in closing the door should there be by any inadvertence a failure of the bolt to be held in retracted position when the door is opened.

The latch which is mounted within the inner and outer sides of the door includes a supporting frame having fiat metal sides I spaced apart each of which are turned to extend short distances in opposite directions, as indicated at II, and thence continued in spaced apart sides I2 terminating each at one corner in outturned ears I3. The cars I3 (Fig. 1) come against the inner side of the door adjacent its edge and are permanently connected thereto. The side plates I0 at their opposite edges are each providedwith an inturned stop ear I4. The sides ID are pressed inwardly toward each other adjacent the outturned sections I I and adjacent their inner edges as indicated at Ma. They are integrally connected by a. cross section I which lies'against the inner side of the outer part of the door and which at one end is provided with ears for the passage of screws or other fastenings to secure .the frame in connection with the door in addition to the securing thereof at the ears I3. The connecting cross member I5 carries a guide sleeve I6 through which the plunger pin 1 has free slidable movement.

Substantially directly opposite the part I5 a guide for the latch bolt is mounted between the inwardly pressed portions Illa of the sides ID. The guide is of substantially channel form having a web I! with flanges I8 turned at right angles to pass between the inset portions Illa. to which they are secured preferably by spot welding. The free edges of the sides or flanges I8 are turned inwardly toward each other for a short distance as indicated at I9,.there being provided in effect a tubular guide for the latch bolt, the

inner side of which is partly removed. 'At one end the Web I I .is provided with a tongue which said actuating member, the pin at its ends passingthrough the sides I0 of the supporting frame and headed over to secure the pin in place. At

v the outer edges of said sides 2| opposite outwardconstruction lies immediately ly projecting lugs 25 are pressed (best shown in Fig. 6) which in practice are substantially midway of the lengths of said outer edges of said sides. The inner end of the plunger pin I bears against the cross member 22 so that when said pin is forced inwardly it turns the actuating member about the axis of the pin 24 in a clockwise direction (Figs. 2 and 3). 1

A latch bolt is connected at one end with the actuating member. The latch bolt comprises two sides 26 of. flat metal which lie between the sides I8 of the previously described guide and are connected at one edge by an integral cross piece 21 which rides against the inner side of the web I! of the guide. Between the free ends of said sides 26 of the bolt a roller 28 is mounted for rotation. The opposite end portions of the sides 26 pass between the sides 2| of .the actuating member and are pivotally connected thereto at the inner corners thereof by a pivot pin 29.

A strong coiled compression spring 30 at one end passes over the tongue 20 and bears against said web IT. A pin 3| extends between andis carried by the sides 2I of the actuating member on which a hollow rod 32 is mounted which extends into opposite ends of the spring 30 and has a slidable connection with the tongue 20, the opposite end of the spring bearing against said pin 3 I. It is evident from this construction that upon operating the actuating member to turn it clockwise (Fig. 1) the latch bolt will be retracted and the spring' 30 compressed.

The latch is completed by what may be termed a trigger and stop member. Said member is made from flat metal with two spaced apart sides 33 each of which at one end having each a laterally extending arm 34, the outer edge of which is of an arc-shape as at 34a. The sides 33 are integrally connected by a cross plate 35 which is extended outwardly beyond said sides 33, as at 35a so as to strike-against the keeper when the bolt has'been retracted and the door is being closed. This trigger member is pivotally mounted between its ends on a pin 36 which extends across between and is carried at its ends by the sides III of the frame of the latch. A relatively light coiled spring 31 surrounds the pin 36 and has an arm extending from one end bearing against the cross plate 35 and another arm at the other end of the spring bearing against one of the inturned portions I9 of the latch bolt guide.

With the door in closed position (Fig. 1) the roller 28 of the latch bolt lies against the inner side of the keeper hook 9 and under the influence of the strong spring 39 is forced in a direction to cause the roller to bear snugly against the inner side of the keeper hook and press the door to tight closedposition. The end 3522 of the; trigger v beyond the outer portion of the keeper hook 9;

.To open the door the handle} is grasp d-and an outward pull made thereon. This forces the plunger l inwardly against the part 22 swinging the actuating member clockwise and moving the lugs 25 away from the ends of the arms 34 of the trigger. As soon as the bolt roller 28 movest'o a position so that it can disengage from the keeper the door will thereupon open because of the outward pull on the handle, the trigger contact of its part; 35 with the keeper willbe broken and said trigger, under the influence of the tortion spring 31, will swing clockwise to bring the arms '34 within the lugs 25 (Figs. 2 and 3), said lugs having been moved out of the way to release the said arms 34 for movement. 'lhetrigger member thereupon provides a positive stop for any return of the latch bolt to the position which it had when it was in operative engagement with the keeper, said lugs 25 engaging against the outer edges 34a of the arms 34.

It will be apparent, referring to Figs. 2' and 3, that this trigger and also stop member may engage against the edges 34d of the arms 34' at two extreme positions and at all other positions between said two extreme positions. The extreme positions are adjacent the ends of said curved edges 3 Two of the intermediate positions are shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Such construction insures a positive stopping and holding of the latch bolt in retracted position at anumber of positions ofthe latch bolt with reference to the keeper. Because of this, if in one position of the keeperthe latch bolt disengages therefrom quicker than it would at another position of the keeper, the bolt will not have been retracted as far as the first position as at the second and the stop lugs 25 will engage said edges 34a of the arms as nearer the free ends of the arms; while if the latch bolt has to be pulled farther to disengage from the keeper the engagement of the lugs 3 3a will be farther away from the free edges of said arcs. The range of tolerance in the practical latch which we have provided and which has been manufactured and sold is substantially permitting such leeway for the workman in setting the keeper with an assurance that the latch bolt will be retracted and held in retracted position when it disengages from the keeper.

On closing the door the projecting portion 35a of the trigger member strikes against the keeper '9', thereupon swinging said trigger in a counterclockwise direction (Figs. 2 and 3) until the arms 34 have passed by the stop lugs at 25. Upon such passage the actuating member is released and the bolt and actuating member are moved by the compressed spring 38 to force the roller 23 of the bolt into secure latching engagement against the inner side of the keeper hook.

The construction described is of a practical,

serviceable, novel character and one which has proved to be very effective for refrigerators. It is durable and will stand up for the life of a refrigerator. The escape of cold air from the refrigerator is guarded against by the close engagement of the sleeve It with the pin 1. This invention is a very marked and practical improvement upon the construction shown in the prior Patent No. 2,010,907. Such prior patent while showing a conception of retaining the latch bolt in retracted position does not show a practical commercial way of doing it, and while the latch of said issued patent has been heavily commercialized it has been primarily in connection with the structure of latches shown but in which the bolt was not held in retracted position. The present invention has made possible the desired conception of this earlier patent in a very novel, practical, efiicient andcommercially serviceable manner. The merit o'f'the invention has been fully proven by large between two extreme commercial sale and acceptance by the refrigerator trade.

We claim:

" '1.'In a latch, a movably mounted latch bolt, spring means for moving the latch bolt in one direction of its length, manually actuated means for retracting the latch bolt, and means for engaging said manually actuated means at a plurality of retractedpositions of said latch bolt to hold the bolt in any of said positions.

2. In a latch, a movably mounted latch bolt, spring means for moving the bolt longitudinally in one direction, manually actuated means for retracting the bolt against said. spring and means engageable with said actuated means upon retraction of the bolt, said last mentioned means being engageable with the manually actuated means at any one of a plurality of positions between two extreme positions, in one of which extreme positions the latch bolt is-retracted a maximum amount and the other of which it is retracted a minimum amount for such engagement of the stop means, the bolt being retracted greater distances than its minimum amount and lesser distances than its maximum amount at the intermediate positions of engagement with said manually actuated means.

3. In a latch, a movably mounted latch bolt,

spring means normally moving the latch bolt in one direction of its length, a manually actuated means for retracting the latch bolt against said spring means, an abutment on said manually actuated means, a pivotally mounted member having a cam surface on a part thereof, means for moving said member to bring said surface in front of said abutment upon moving said actuated means and retracting the latch bolt to a predetermined position and for moving said pivoted member greater distances with greater retractions of the latch bolt whereby the latch bolt may be held retracted in a plurality of positions positions at which it may be held retracted.

4. In a latch, a movably mounted latch bolt having a free end portion adapted to engage with a keeper, said bolt being disengageable from the keeper on retraction a distance sufl'lcient that its free end is free of the keeper, manually actuated means for retracting the bolt, spring means normally moving the latch bolt in the opposite direction from that which it is retracted, movably mounted means engageable with said manually actuated means on retraction of the latch bolt from engagement with the keeper to stop return of the latch bolt under the influence of said spring means, said movably mounted means engaging with said manually actuated means at different positions of the latch bolt between two extreme positions whereby a keeper may be set with respect to the latch bolt in accordance with said extreme positions of engagement or at any intermediate position therebetween.

5. In a latch, a spring actuated latch bolt mounted for substantially longitudinal movement, a keeper having a head providing a hook at the inner side of which the free end of the latch bolt is adapted to engage, manually actuated means connected with the latch bolt for withdrawing it from engagement with said keeper, said manually actuated means having an abutment thereon, a trigger and stop member pivotally mounted ;between its ends having one end extending to the outer portion of the head of the keeper and at the other end being provided with a cam surface normally located out of operative engagement with said abutment when the latch bolt is engaged with the keeper, spring means fonautomatically turning said trigger and stop member about its pivot when the latch bolt is withdrawn and disengaged from the keeper upon operation of said manually actuatedmeans and movement of the abutment toa position wherein said cam surface is moved to a side of the abutment and engages therewith to hold the bolt retracted, said cam surface engaging the abutment at different positions in accordance with different distances that the latch bolt requires retraction to disengage from its keeper, whereupon the latch may be moved outwardly away from the keeper, and upon movement of the latch toward the keeper a striking of the adjacent end of said trigger and stop member against the keeper will turn said member in a direction to disengage it from said abutment and release the latch bolt to engage with said keeper.

6. In a latch, a supporting frame having spaced apartsides, a latch bolt mounted for substantially longitudinal movement between said sides of the frame having a free end portion adapted to engage a keeper, a lever pivotally mounted on said frame and connected with the latch bolt, spring means normally moving the latch bolt in one direction, manual means for actuating said lever to retract the latch bolt against said spring means, an abutment projecting laterally from said lever, a trigger and stop member pivotally mounted on and located between the sides of said supporting framerhaving one end projecting beyond the latch bolt and the other end having an angularly disposed arm, the outer edge of which provides a cam, said abutment being located substantially opposite the end of the arm when the latch bolt is moved by said spring means to keeper engaging position and being moved away from the end of said arm to permit pivotal movement of said trigger and stop member to bring the cam edge of the arm into operative engagement with said abutment, said bolt being held retracted in any one of a plurality of positions within the length of said cam edge of the arm engaging against the abutment and spring means for normally turning said trigger and stop member to bring it into operative holding position with said abutment when the latch bolt is retracted.

'7. In a latch construction, a latch frame having spaced apart sides, a latch bolt mounted and guided between said sides in a substantially, longitudinal movement, said bolt having a free end portion adapted to engage with a keeper,

spring means acting on said latch bolt to normally move it in a direction to engage with the keeper, a lever pivotally mounted on said frame having pivotal connection with said bolt, manually operated means for turning said lever to retract the latch bolt, an abutment extending laterally to one side of said lever, a second lever pivotally mounted between its ends having one end extending beyond the free end of the latch bolt and the other end extending toward said abutment and terminating inan arm located at an angle to said second lever, the end of which arm is located substantially against said abut ment when the latch bolt is in position to engagewith the keeper, said abutment being moved upon operation of said manually operated means away from the end of said arm, the outer edge of said arm having a cam surface, and spring means for turning said second mentioned lever in a direction to bring said cam edge surface of the arm at a side of the abutment to provide a stop against return of the latch bolt, after retraction, as specified.

8. In combination in a refrigerator, a keeper mounted upon the refrigerator casing adjacent the front opening of said refrigerator, 2. door for closing said refrigerator, a latch mounted on the door having a movably mounted latch bolt for engagement with the keeper, a supporting frame and guide for said latch belt, a leverpivotally mounted on said frame and connected with the latch bolt, a handle mounted on the door for manually actuating said lever to retract the latch bolt from the keeper, spring means for moving the latch bolt in the direction opposite to its retraction movement, a second lever pivotally mounted between its ends on said support having one end extending beyond the keeper engaging of the bolt and adjacent the keeper and the other end extending to the first mentioned lever, an abutment projecting laterally from said first mentioned lever, said second lever at said opposite end thereof having an elongated cam surface to engage with said abutment when the latch bolt is retracted and disengaged from the latch bolt for engagement with the keeper,

9. In a refrigerator, a fixed keeper, a movable door for the refrigerator and a latch on said door, said latch including a movably mounted latch bolt, spring means for moving the latch bolt in one direction to engage the keeper, a manually actuated means connected with the latch bolt to disengage the bolt from the keeper,

means pulled upon in an outward direction for actuating said means, and means for holding the latch bolt in retracted position upon disengagement from the keeper at any position at which fit disengages therefrom, the door being opened by the outward pull upon said outwardly pulled means upon said disengagement, said position of disengagement of the latch bolt from 'the keeper occurring at any position between two extreme predetermined positions of the keeper in one of which the latch bolt disengages from the keeper when retracted a minimum distance and in the other the latch bolt is retracted a maximum distance to disengage from the keeper.

LLOYD L. ANDERSON. I NEIL J, VAN DAM, 

